China’s Foreign Minister To Rubio: Taiwan Is ‘Biggest Risk Factor’ In US-China Relations

Authored by Dave DeCamp via AntiWar.com,

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi spoke with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and told him that the issue of Taiwan is the”biggest risk factor” in relations between Washington and Beijing, Chinese media has reported.

“The Taiwan issue concerns China’s core interests and is the biggest risk factor in China-US relations,” Wang said, according to The South China Morning Post, which cited China’s CCTV broadcaster.

“The US side should honor its commitments, make the right choice, open up new avenues for China-US cooperation, and do its part to promote world peace,” Wang added.

The call comes after Taiwan’s government announced it had signed contracts with the US for about $6.6 billion in arms, including a nearly $4 billion sale of HIMARS rocket systems.

The contracts are a partial fulfillment of a massive $11 billion weapons package that the Trump administration approved in December, a number that represents more arms deals than were approved during the entire Biden administration.

Taipei Times has noted that “The HIMARS can be equipped with either a pod of six 227mm rockets or a single Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS), which has a range of up to 300km (186 miles).”

China reacted strongly when the US approved the series of weapons deals, launching major military drills around Taiwan simulating a blockade. Beijing first launched such drills in August 2022 in response to then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to the island.

Wang’s warning to Rubio reflects a position China has repeatedly stated to the US in recent years, that Taiwan is the first “red line” in US-China relations.

The two diplomats also discussed President Trump’s upcoming visit to Beijing for a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping, scheduled for mid-May.

Wang said that the US and China “must safeguard the hard-won stability and make thorough preparations for the coming high-level engagements.”